Grain drier



Patented July 24, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE GRAIN nalen' William W. Jakubik, Rosenberg, Tex. Application August 4, 1947, Serial No. 765,945

1 claim. l

ratus and particularly concerns a grain drier of the type having a, drying tower through which grain descends and is subjected to heated air.

In grain driers of this type, the grain is usually constantly moved by gravity over a series of v inclined trays and, at the same time, subjected to anvupward blast of heated air. ySome improvement in thegravity type of conveyer has been accomplished by agitating the trays. Generally, this agitation is eected by reciprocating the trays. However, whether or not the trays are agitated, it is necessary to incline them rather steeply in order to avoid clogging.

With such steep slopes, only a few trays can be arranged in a tower of convenient height, and the speed at which the grain descends cannot be controlled. Even though the Atrays are inclined in opposite directions, 'the steep slopes necessary to avoid clogging causes the grain to descend very rapidly. In order to accomplish substantial drying in the short time that is required for the gra-into descend to the bottom of such a tower it has been necessary to employ air of a very high temperature. As a result, the grain is heated' to a. high temperature but not completely dried. To reduce the temperature'of the grain before.`pass ing it through another drying tower, it is usually necessary to make use of an intermediate cooling tower. It is a major object of this invention to overcome the difficulties of previous grain driers'by providing improved agitation for the inclined trays so the speed of the grain may be controlled to descend more slowly withouty the danger'of clogging the tower.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grain drying tower which may employ drying air of a lower temperature and still completelydry the grain in'one tower of convenient height.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grain drying system which may be setup on a farm to dry green grain. This is particularly useful in damp climates where the grain must be harvested before it is completely ripe, otherwise it will ruin in the field.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a single grain tower wherein the trays may be inclined less sharply without danger of clogging, thereby enabling a greater number of trays to be placed in a tower of convenient height.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in a grain drying tower for simultaneously reciprocating and oscillating inclined trays in the tower.

Another particular object of the invention is to provide an air control in the grain cooling tower whereby the grain coming into the top of the tower is not mixed with the air and trash moving upwardly through the tower.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specilication taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a grain drier embodying the invention but havingr some parts removed for purposes of clearance;

Fig. 2 is a partial section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the trays incorporated in the grain drier.

According to 'the invention in its preferred form, the grain drying apparatus includes a heated air type grain drying tower having an opening at its top through which grain is discharged by an endless conveyer. A fan and heater are connected to the bottom of the tower to force heated air upwardly through the tower. A series of perforated trays are arranged one above another in the tower and are `alternately inclined in opposite directions to provide a tortuous path for'descending grain while permitting direct upward flow of heated air. l

Each of these trays is supported for combined oscillating and reciprocating movements. Power driven devices operate to simultaneously oscillate and reciprocate the trays. 'I'his combined oscillating and reciprocating motion gradually moves the grain downwardly along each tray without danger of clogging the trays or stopping the downward flow of grain. By using this motion, the trays may be inclined at smaller angles to the horizontal so more trays can be arranged in a tower of convenient height. This, in effect, provides a longer drying path for the grain.

Grain discharged from the lower end of the drying tower is elevated by another endless conveyer to the upper end of a cooling tower. Afan is provided to force cool air upwardly through the cooling tower. An air valve in the top of the cooling tower divides the opening therein into an entrance for dried grain and an exit for cool air. This valve is adjustable tovary the ratio of the areas of the two openings.

Referring now to the drawings, the grain drying tower II is supported on a pedestal I2 arranged on a suitable base I3. YThe grain drying tower is preferably square or rectangular' in cross-section having straightsides I4, I5,v I5 and Il. An air pump it driven from a motor i9 may be heated as by a suitable burner 2i supplied with fuel through a pipe 22. This heated air passes tlnough duct 23 into the lower end of the drying tower Il. The air may escape from the tower H through a conventional stack 24.

Grain to be dried is placed in a hopper 25 and ows by gravity down chute 23 to an endless bucket conveyer y2'! which may be enclosed within a casing 28. The conveyer 2l may also be driven from the motor i3 as by a belt 23 and pulley 3i. The grain to be dried is carried upwardly by buckets 32 on the conveyer and discharged into an entrance 33 formed near the top of the drying tower.

In order to control the rate of descent of the grain to the bottom of the drying tower i I, a tray 34 is supported within the tower and angularly inclined with respect to the horizontal. Directly below the tray 34 a similar tray 35 is inclined in the opposite direction. As shown in the drawings, several additional trays 36, 36, may be arranged above the other within the tower and alternately inclined in opposite directions. Each of the trays is provided with upwardly turned sides 33 and 33, and also has its upper end turned up as at 4i. With the trays angularly inclined in opposite directions, they form a tortuous path along which the grain i'lows. In order that the heated' air may pass directly from the bottom to the top of the tower and also pass through the grain to be dried, each of the trays has a perforated bottom, as indicated at 42, 42. The perforations should be small enough to prevent grain from falling through the openings but large enough to permit free passage of air.

Each of the trays is mounted in the tower for combined reciprocating and oscillating motions. As shown most clearly in 2, the tray 3F; has its lower end pivotally connected as by stub shafts 43 and M to links 45 and 43. The link i5 is pivotally connected to the sides it of the tower as by a stub shaft i which is journaled in a bearing 48. Similarly, the link 43 is supported on a stub shaft 49 journaled in bearing 5i on the side il of the tower. With this arrangement, the lower end of the tray 34! is pivotally connected' to links i5 and 45 which are mounted in the tower to turn about the of shafts i? and ll9fabove the lower end portion of the tray.

The upper end portion of each of the trays is supported so it may be oscillated about an axis below its respective upper end portion. This is shown most clearly in Fig. 2 in connection with the tray 35. The upper end portion of the tray 35 is pirotally connected to a pair of links 53 and which are longer than links A5 and 4t, as by a bolt 55 in a elevis 5l and a bolt 55 in a clevis 53 mounted on the bottom of the tray. The lower ends of the links 33 and 513 are fixed, as by welding indicated at l, to a shaft E2 journaled in bearings and 54 mounted on the sides is and Il, respectively, of the tower. Thus, the upper ends of the trays are pivoted to links which turn about axes arranged below their respective upper ends. As links e5 and i6 are shorter than links 53 and 56, the upper ends of the trays turn on a longer radius than the radius on which turn the lower ends of the trays.

In order to oscillate and reciprocate the trays, the shafts 52 are simultaneously oscillated. For this purpose, a crank pin E4 eccentrically mounted on a wheel 65 is connected to a vertically disposed rod SG. Vertical movements of the rod t6 are transmitted through a sliding connection, il-

lustrated by pins 5i and 58, to cranks 63 on each of the shafts t2. Inasmuch as the shafts 62 are alternately arranged on opposite sides of the rod t6, the shafts will be rotated in opposite directions for alternate trays. The wheel t5 may be driven through a belt 'H from the motor IS.

From this description it will be apparent that the upper ends of each of the trays oscillates about the axis of its respective shaft 52 arranged below said upper end while the lower ends of the trays are oscillated on a shorter radius about axes above said lower ends. The two ends of the trays are, therefore, simultaneously moved along opjpositely disposed arcs. lThis eiectively causes reciprocation of the trays in the direction of their inclination and, at the same time, causes oscillation of the trays about a transverse axis midway between the ends. Due to the differences in the radii of the arcs about which the upper and lower ends of the tray move, the lower ends move a greater distance in a vertical direction and a shorter distance in a horizontal direction, thereby improving the agitation of grain on the trays.

The oscillation of 'the tray keeps the grain moving away from the surface of the tray so it is at all times completely subjected to the drying action ci air passing upwardly through perforations in the bottom of the tray. Also, oscillation of the trays prevents the grain from sticking to them. The reciprocating motion of the trays causes the grain to move in the direction of its inclination. The trays may be inclined at relatively small angles with respect to the horizontal so downward movement of the grain is comparativeiy slow, because the danger of clogging is eliminated by the combined oscillating and reciprocating motion of the trays. By this expedient, a greater number of trays may be placed within a tower of convenient height and thereby the path of descending grain is elongated without increasing the height ci the tower.

Since the path of the grain is longer, and the rate of flow of the grain is slower, the grain is subjected to heated air for a greatly increased period of time. This enables the grain to be completely dried in one tower lwithout subjecting it to excessive temperatures. When the grain reaches the bottom of the tower I l, it moves along a chute 'H to a second endless bucket conveyer 12 which may be enclosed within a casing 13. Buckets 'M elevate the grain from the bottom of the drying tower to the top of a cooling tower 14 which has an opening l5 in its upper end.

This opening is divided by an air valve 16 so grain discharged from the buckets 'M moves over a baille Tl down a chute 18 and through an entrance on one side of the valve 16. The other side of the valve 'i6 cooperates with a passage 19 to form an exit for cool air which is forced upwardly through the cooling tower lli by a ian 8i. The fan 8| may be driven by a belt 32 from the motor i3. A series of oppositely inclined chutes 83, 83, are arranged within cooling tower '14 to provide a tortuous path for descending grain.

When the grain reaches the bottom of the cooling tower it flows through a sacker provided with a valve 8S for .supplying the grain first through one chute 8l and then through another chute 88 into sacks disposed below the cooling tower.

A particular feature of the cooling tower embodying the invention is the air controlled valve 16 which may be adjusted as by a handle 89 to vary the ratio of the entrance and eXit openings. This valve is preferably adjusted so only grain will pass through the entrance, and all air, to-l gether with any trash carried by it, will pass outwardly through the exit and passage '19.

In operation, grain placed in the hopper 25 is elevated by the endless conveyer 21 to the entrance 33 in the upper end of the drying tower Il. It then passes on to the alternately inclined perforated trays 34 and 35, which are arranged to simultaneously voscillate and reciprocate as described above. The speed of descent of the grain through the drying tower may be controlled by the speed at which the wheel 65 is driven to cause agitating movement of the trays. When the grain reaches the bottom of the drying tower it is elevated by endless conveyer 12 to the upper end of the cooling tower 14, It is cooled as it descends to the bottom of the cooling tower and is ready to be placed in sacks upon discharge through the sacker 85. f

What is claimed is:

In a grain drying tower, grain agitating means comprising a series of perforated trays arranged one above the other within said tower and alternately inclined in opposite directions, each of said trays having its lower end portion pivotally connected to the lower end of a pair of transversely spaced links, the upper end of each link WILLIAM W. J AKUBIK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

.UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 579,398 Klippert Mar. 23, 1897 663,418 Cook Dec. 11, 1900 771,805 Bloom Oct. 11, 1904 983,198 Applegate Jan. 31, 1911 1,603,108 .I-Ieinzv Oct. 12, 1926 1,816,236 Shuyler July 28, 1931 2,077,615 Chapman" Apr. 20, 1937 

